London Mayor Boris Johnson is looking to recruit at least 10,000 volunteers

Here Mayor Boris Johnson outlines his ambitious Team London volunteering vision, and urges more people to nominate their Team London Stars.

“I am often asked which London team I support, which, until now, has put me into uncomfortable territory. One London FC over another and the potential for a diplomatic incident is wide open. No more! Now I hHere ave my own team; Team London, and I am on the hunt for 10,000 Londoners to join me.

London is already a city of good will. We have a proud tradition of giving something back with three quarters of Londoners volunteering in some capacity each year. This is a tremendous record of helping one another and makes London a standout world capital.

Still, Londoners often tell me how hard they think it is to do something good that makes a difference. The desire, and the need, is there. What Team London does is remove any difficulty in finding a way to volunteer. We know that people can find the culture of volunteering a little off-putting. Now, those who didn’t previously have the confidence or the know-how to put their hand up can join Team London, and our schemes will allow them to do something with a high and immediate impact, encouraging them to carry on.

Based on the massively successful ‘cities of service’ model pioneered in New York, Team London will see London become the first ‘city of service’ outside of America. Backed by the Reuben Foundation, with their generous £2m contribution, and with a further £2.5m from City Hall, we already have £4.5m dedicated to making London safer, increasing opportunities for young people, improving local environments, and helping isolated groups.

We have already recruited 1,600 men to mentor vulnerable black boys. We are recruiting 500 volunteers to improve child literacy in London. There are 10 different uniformed groups in London (Scouts, Cadets, Guides and others) in need of your help. We only need 1,000 adult volunteers to get 8,000 kids, from all backgrounds, off waiting lists for these groups. We’re on the hunt for 1,000 sports coaches and 4,000 green volunteers to improve our great outdoors. We are also recruiting 500 younger people to help older members of their communities learn IT skills so they are not isolated from the modern world.

But, Team London is not just about individuals. We are working in partnership with businesses as well as volunteering networks and education initiatives. We have 10 London-based corporate giants on board to lend their support. David or Goliath, we are coming together to provide a lasting legacy of giving. It’s not about replacing any public sector activity - we’re creating additional capacity and solving the longstanding problems around volunteering. With just a little more generosity and passion, brilliant schemes that make a real impact will get off the ground or reach further, changing the lives of those in need of our help.

And, we are not just looking ahead. We are celebrating the fantastic work of Londoners who already give their time, effort and dedication. Alongside our mass recruitment drive for volunteers, we are encouraging all Londoners to nominate someone they know who deserves recognition for what they already do. Readers of London24 have already nominated their friends, family members, and colleagues to be a Team London Star, for which I offer great thanks. It is the work of each of these individuals that shows the rest of us just what we can achieve.

We are facing a future where 80 per cent of populations will live in cities and we know that where neighbours know each others’ names, crime falls. I believe that our psyche is such that we yearn for a village atmosphere and we miss community support. Team London is that support. Please sign up and get involved or nominate someone you know and admire for a Team London Star certificate. Embrace the shared pride we have in being a Londoner; grab with both hands the common purpose that makes our capital so envied; of giving something back.”

For more information go to www.london.gov.uk/teamlondon